Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Detoxifying the Poison After Mu Yuheng learned of Ling Jiayue’s current predicament, he summoned the shopkeeper of Xinglin Pharmacy and instructed him, “General Luo has been poisoned. Take the medicinal ingredients to the General’s Residence and wait there. If Miss Ling needs anything, give it to her.” “Yes, master.” Mu Yuheng then gave Feng Yan another order: thoroughly search Concubine Wang’s residence and belongings to see whether there was any poison. After all, the food that had poisoned General Luo had come from Concubine Wang’s quarters. Having finished all this, Mu Yuheng did not relax in the slightest. At the General’s Residence, Ling Jiayue had just finished examining General Luo together with Doctor Lin. Both of them wore grave expressions. The poison was so strange that neither of them had ever encountered anything like it. For now, they could only use aged ginseng to keep General Luo’s vitality from failing, lest the poison erode him too severely. Ling Jiayue and Doctor Lin opened the door and came out, explaining General Luo’s condition in detail. At present, General Luo had to consume aged ginseng every day just to keep him alive. Unfortunately, the aged ginseng in the General’s Residence was not enough, and they could not procure more of such fine quality on short notice. Everyone was at a loss. “Zhen’er, what are we to do? Your father…” Madam Luo said worriedly. “Madam Luo, please don’t worry. I’ve heard that there’s an Xinglin Pharmacy in the capital. They have a complete selection of medicinal ingredients, and the shopkeeper is said to be very kind. Why don’t we buy some there first?” Seeing how worried Madam Luo was, Ling Jiayue suggested this. “Mother, don’t worry. I’ll send someone to Xinglin Pharmacy right away. I’ll certainly keep Father safe.” As Luo Zhen spoke, he was about to head to Xinglin Pharmacy. Just then, the steward came to report that the shopkeeper of Xinglin Pharmacy was waiting outside to see them. He said that he had heard General Luo had suddenly fallen ill and, moved by the general’s years of fighting on the battlefield for the country and its people, had specially brought a large quantity of medicinal ingredients, all for the sake of General Luo’s health. Everyone in the Luo household was both delighted and surprised. “Quickly, quickly, invite the shopkeeper in,” Luo Zhen immediately ordered the steward. “Xinglin Pharmacy certainly knows how to conduct itself,” Ling Jiaxuan whispered to Ling Jiayue. “Older Brother, for Xinglin Pharmacy to have established itself in the capital for so many years, it must have some influence. Now that the aged ginseng has been brought right to our door, we have another bit of confidence that we can cure General Luo,” Ling Jiayue whispered back. As soon as the shopkeeper entered, Luo Zhen greeted him warmly. “Shopkeeper, the fact that you came to my Luo Residence in our hour of crisis today has earned the gratitude of everyone in the household.” “Young Master Luo, you give me too much credit,” the shopkeeper replied. “General Luo has served the country and its people. It is our pharmacy’s honor to offer the general what little assistance we can.” As he spoke, the shopkeeper had his assistants carry in fine aged ginseng along with several nourishing supplements. Doctor Lin hurriedly had the medicinal ingredients taken away to be decocted. “Young Master Luo, may I have a word with you in private?” While Madam Luo was not paying attention, Ling Jiayue quietly spoke to Luo Zhen. After reassuring Madam Luo, Luo Zhen followed Ling Jiayue outside. “Young Master Luo, I heard Doctor Lin say that General Luo was poisoned because of Concubine Wang?” “That’s right. Unfortunately, Concubine Wang is already dead. Now there is no one left to testify, and it’s impossible to have her hand over the antidote.” Luo Zhen clenched his fists in regret. “If that is the case, Young Master Luo, may I go and look around Concubine Wang’s room? She was able to tamper with General Luo’s food for such a long time. I don’t believe she would not have left behind even the slightest clue.” Ling Jiayue analyzed the situation calmly. “All right. I’ll go with you. I want my father to wake up as soon as possible as well.” Luo Zhen clenched his fist and spoke with determination. “I’m going too.” Ling Jiaxuan suddenly appeared from somewhere and announced this. “Older Brother, General Luo’s condition is unstable right now. You should stay here and watch over him.” “Yes, Brother Ling. I’ll have to trouble you to look after my father,” Luo Zhen added. Seeing that Ling Jiayue and Luo Zhen were determined, Ling Jiaxuan could not insist on going with them. He agreed to stay behind and watch over General Luo. At that moment, Feng Yan finally found a small medicine bottle in Concubine Wang’s room. He opened it and sniffed it, but detected no unusual scent. Seeing that he had searched what seemed to be every corner of the room, he tidied everything up and returned to the Seventh Prince’s Residence to report. “Master, this is the poison powder your subordinate found in Concubine Wang’s room.” Feng Yan handed the poison powder to Mu Yuheng. Mu Yuheng examined it in his hand, then tossed it back to Feng Yan. “Master, what are you doing?” Feng Yan asked, puzzled. “Go. Put it back.” “Put it back? Master, it took your subordinate a great deal of effort to find this.” Feng Yan looked aggrieved. “As if I didn’t know it took you a great deal of effort to find it. Put it back—and this as well.” As he spoke, Mu Yuheng tossed the jade pendant marked with the character “three” to Feng Yan. “Master, you really are clever.” Feng Yan immediately understood Mu Yuheng’s intention and began flattering him. “Go. Don’t attract too much attention.” “Yes, master.” Feng Yan left as ordered. Just as Feng Yan had slipped into Concubine Wang’s room, Ling Jiayue and Luo Zhen’s voices came from outside. “Miss Ling, this is Concubine Wang’s residence. Please, come this way.” Luo Zhen led Ling Jiayue inside. “Young Master Luo, you’re too kind,” Feng Yan heard Ling Jiayue say. As their voices drew closer, Feng Yan grew anxious. He stuffed the medicine bottle and jade pendant beneath Concubine Wang’s pillow, ran to the window, leaped out, and gently closed it behind him. The entire sequence of movements was completed in one fluid motion without making the slightest sound. His skill was truly impressive. The instant Feng Yan jumped out the window, Ling Jiayue and Luo Zhen pushed open the door and entered. “Miss Ling, this is Concubine Wang’s room,” Luo Zhen introduced. “Then I’ll be troubling you. Please forgive me, Young Master Luo,” Ling Jiayue said apologetically. “Miss Ling, there’s no need to say that. Please, make yourself at home.” After speaking, Luo Zhen gestured for her to proceed. Ling Jiayue did not stand on ceremony. She rolled up her sleeves and immediately began searching for the poison. After a while, Ling Jiayue found the medicine bottle and jade pendant Feng Yan had placed beneath Concubine Wang’s pillow. She cried out in surprise, “I found them.” Hearing Ling Jiayue’s cry, Luo Zhen went over to look at the medicine bottle she had found. But he never would have expected there to be a jade pendant as well. “Young Master Luo, I’ll take this medicine bottle to study with Doctor Lin and see whether it can counteract the poison in General Luo’s body. Since this jade pendant was found in Concubine Wang’s room, you should decide what to do with it.” As she spoke, Ling Jiayue handed the jade pendant to Luo Zhen. Luo Zhen’s heart jolted when he saw the character “three” carved into the jade pendant. But his father’s illness was more urgent. He merely stuffed the pendant into his robes and followed Ling Jiayue to investigate the medicine in the bottle. Ling Jiayue carried the medicine bottle back to General Luo’s room and handed it to Doctor Lin for examination. Although she gave the bottle to Doctor Lin, she already knew the answer. Having Doctor Lin inspect it was simply to put everyone in the Luo household at ease. “It’s this,” Doctor Lin said firmly. “If that’s the case, then we can make the antidote. General Luo will be able to wake up soon.” Ling Jiayue smiled.